In memory of our brother and son, Robert Bagnell,
who died moments after being tasered by police in Vancouver, British Columbia on June 23, 2004. Bob was the 7th Canadian to die and the 110th in North America.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

B.C. prosecutors continue dithering five months after Delta police recommended they charge Cpl. Benjamin Monty Robinson, the most senior Mountie in the Dziekanski Tasering, with killing a motorcyclist a year later while driving drunk.

The criminal justice branch took more than a year to decide not to charge the four officers in the death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver Airport Oct. 14, 2007.

Now the branch is taking an inappropriately long time dealing with a horrific Oct. 25, 2008 Tsawwassen accident involving Robinson, the most experienced of the disgraced quartet.

The interminable chronology is a serious indictment of what should be an impartial process. It raises questions about the relationship between prosecutors and the officers they rely on daily in every criminal trial.

Think Stockholm syndrome.

In the high-profile Tsawwassen case, Delta police came under fire for dragging their feet after scheduled court dates were delayed and a decision on charges failed to materialize.

Finally, in June -- eight months after the fatal collision at the intersection of Gilchrist Drive and Sixth Avenue -- they submitted a report to prosecutors recommending Robinson be charged with impaired driving and dangerous driving causing death.

The crash occurred about 10:30 p.m. and Robinson gave breath samples at 11:56 p.m. and 12:16 a.m. that read .12 and .10. The legal limit is .08.

Neil MacKenzie, a spokesman for the criminal justice branch, said in June that the Crown's review should be completed within a month.

The silence since has been deafening.

Following the crash, the motor vehicle branch suspended Robinson's driver's licence for 90 days and he tried unsuccessfully to appeal it.

The brazen Mountie lamely argued in B.C. Supreme Court that an adjudicator didn't properly consider his excuse -- that he left the debris-strewn scene of the collision, had two shots of vodka, and returned. That's why he blew over the limit.

Orion Hutchinson, a 21-year-old recent graduate of BCIT looking forward to a new job, lay dying on the road and Robinson says he went home for quick drink?

Consider that Kurtis Rock, 18, was in the prisoner's dock facing eight charges three days after the Feb. 7 hit-and-run that killed Dr. Aneez Mohammed and Chanelle Morgan near the entrance to Granville Island.

Three days compared to more than a year and counting; one case involving a common citizen, the other a Mountie. Gee, I wonder why people are losing faith in the legal system?

Although the criminal justice branch decided last Dec. 12 not to charge any of the Mounties in connection with Dziekanski's death, testimony this year at the public inquiry into the incident raised serious questions about the integrity of the RCMP investigation and the veracity of the officers -- including Robinson.

There have been calls for the attorney-general to reconsider laying criminal charges against them and the government of Poland is apparently mulling a prosecution.

Inquiry commissioner Thomas Braidwood is writing his final report on the 40-year-old Polish immigrant's death and is expected to deliver it early next year.

But all of that has nothing to do with the death of Hutchinson.

More than a year after a none-too-complicated accident -- almost six months after even the cops said their colleague should be put on trial -- supposedly disinterested prosecutors have been unable to figure out whether to lay charges.

A criminal justice branch spokesman said Tuesday a decision will come soon.

Attorney-General Mike de Jong should be ashamed. Either his prosecutors are incompetent or so overworked they can't get the important jobs done.

There is no reason charges could be laid against Rock but no decision made in Robinson's case for this length of time.

It is a travesty for the family of a young man who died with everything before him and also for a besieged officer who deserves to be either exonerated or convicted and fired.

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taser-Related Deaths = 1043+ in North America

See "A LIST OF THE DEAD"According to Taser International, the taser had nothing to do with any of these deaths. According to a Reuters investigation, Shock Tactics - Part 1 - The Toll, published on August 22, 2017, more than 150 autopsy reports have cited tasers as the cause or contributor to deaths across the U.S. That number may be higher; however medical examiners and coroners are often not impartial but are instead biased in favour of the Crown or, as has been shown, they are under tremendous pressure from - among others - Taser International, to make a particular finding.See Judge rules for Taser in cause-of-death decisions

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Taser International finally admits risk that their weapons may affect the human heart

RCMP - TASERS POTENTIALLY LETHAL

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My Brother - Robert Bagnell June 27, 1959 - June 23, 2004

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2) Until such time as independent and unbiased study into the "real world" safety implications of Tasers has been properly completed, a moratorium must be imposed upon these weapons.

3) If, after independent and unbiased study has been completed, the Taser is going to remain in the police arsenal, it must be placed at a level equal to lethal force on the continuum of force and used only as a second-to-last resort.

4) Safety standards must be developed for Tasers. There are currently no Canadian safety standards in place for this weapon.

5) Police must not be allowed to investigate themselves but must be subject to independent and unbiased civilian oversight.

6) Families of people who die in police custody in Canada must be provided with funding so that they may be properly represented by legal counsel.

07. Robert Bagnell, 44 – Vancouver, BC - June 23, 2004 - X26 - "Official" cause of death: Consistent with restraint-associated cardiac arrest due to acute cocaine intoxication and psychosis. Bob's autopsy report showed marks on his body consistent to multiple taser shots, which incidently could not be affirmed by the pathologist because she could not explain those marks.

09. Samuel Truscott, 43 – Kingston, ON - August 8, 2004 - X26 - "Official" cause of death: Heart attack cause by drug overdose and "I can state categorically that the Taser did not play any role whatsoever in his death" said Chief Coroner for Ontario, Jim Cairns

24. Michael Langan, 17, Winnipeg, MB - July 22, 2008 - tasered 1 time - the autopsy report says Langan's death was caused by a heart arrhythmia brought on by the Taser shocks

25. Sean Reilly, 42 - Brampton, ON - September 17, 2008 - Peel Regional Police - X26 - tasered 2 times - the inquest jury will determine the official cause of death, however, “the forensic evidence indicated that the force used by the officers, including the Taser discharge, did not contribute to his death"

27. Trevor Grimolfson, 38 - Edmonton, AB - October 29, 2008, X26 - According to sources, after he was pepper sprayed, Trevor was tasered directly on the chest 5 times and tasered on the back of the neck 2 more times - Edmonton police said he was only tasered 2 times but testing on the tasers proves otherwise - "Official" cause of death: excited delirium brought on by drugs

29. Grant William Prentice, 40 - Brooks, AB - May 6, 2009 - RCMP - tasered 2 times - "Official" cause of death: acute cocaine toxicity and "the medical examiner also concluded the taser did not play a role in the death"

Ain't it the truth!

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80% percent of the population could be moved in either direction

Human rights activist Susan Sontag, when asked what she had learned from the Holocaust, said that 10 percent of any population is cruel, no matter what, and that 10 percent is merciful, no matter what, and that the remaining 80 percent could be moved in either direction.

THE Successes AREN'T the Problem

"The issue is not whether or not the taser can be used in a high percentage of cases to reduce death and/or physical trauma to officers and civilians alike. The issue is whether or not it's OK to kill the rest through ignorance and rationalization just because it's a small percentage ... The successes aren't the problem - the failures are. They're being told that tasers are nonlethal, so they blast away until people can't move. They're killing people by accident." Dave Siegler, father of Raymond Siegler, who died on February 12, 2004

The artistic side of Robert Bagnell

WE KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE

ROBERT ANGLEN

Robert Anglen, a reporter with The Arizona Republic, documented the first 167 Taser-related deaths. Mr. Anglen launched a journalistic investigation of Taser International, linking the Taser to multiple deaths, among other eye-openers.

At the 2005 Arizona Press Club Awards, Mr. Anglen won first place in the Investigative reporting category. He was the recipient of the Don Bolles Award for his report entitled "Taser tied to 'independent' study that backs stun gun'. “As part of an extraordinarily thorough investigation of Taser International, Anglen uncovered ‘smoking gun’ documents that showed the manufacturer was heavily involved in the key study that purported the devices are safe. Anglen also uncovered conflicts of interest and documented wide-spread problems with Taser safety — a matter of national and international public interest.”

In 2006, Mr. Anglen was a runner up for the Arizona Press Club's Virg Hill Journalist of the Year award. Peter Bhatia of The Oregonian wrote “Robert Anglen is an investigative reporter, pure and simple. Clearly, he is a reporter who, once he sinks his teeth into something, stays with it until the story is done. His ongoing work around the company that makes Tasers speaks to that."